Smoothie Takes the Pain Away

In the past, I have experienced painful menstrual cramps every month. I have taken bottles and bottles of icky ibuprofen to mask the pain. I felt fearful and time began to funnel into my one week of pain. I would have embarrassing public displays of pain like laying on my coat in the middle of the library, or hanging out an open car door on the side of the road to gain some comfort in stare-worthy positions. I researched many different perspectives and tried eating many different foods. This gets uplifting don’t worry. A few months ago, I found a couple of things that started to alleviate my cramping at an extraordinary rate.

1. I started thinking about the process of menstruation differently. Instead of fighting my womanhood, I embraced it. I began to look at this one week out of the month like a reset button. A calibrator. It is now a time to review the past month, appreciate myself and set the pace for the next month by eating well. Mind you, this mindset was easier to handle once I learned what is below.

2. I would say that I have reduced my cramps down by 80% by drinking vegetable and fruit smoothies. I began eating vegetable and fruit smoothies exclusively during my calibration period. Something about the ice, everything chopped up and the fruit and vegetables was good for the digestion and had a calming effect on my body. Though I eat whole foods too, I continue to eat the smoothies a couple of times per day even outside of calibration (If you think of a different word to call this, give me a shout out 🙂 The last couple of periods I have eaten mostly watermelon and cucumber smoothies and that really made me feel good.

I use a bullet right now but eventually I would like to get something that is quicker to process and holds more ingredients. For now I savor.